NASA first began collecting data on the outer reaches of the solar system when Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, launched in 1977, left the inner solar system for a trip toward the boundary. McComas said scientists received "totally unexpected" data from both Voyager spacecrafts, data that disproved many long-held beliefs about the area.

NASA reported that the IBEX spacecraft will be launched aboard a Pegasus rocket dropped from under the wing of an L-1011 aircraft flying over the Pacific Ocean. The Pegasus will carry the spacecraft about 130 miles above Earth and place it into orbit.

The effort will come just weeks after the its robotic arm and several onboard instruments to discover the presence of . Using an orbiter, two Rovers and the Lander, scientists are working to figure out if the elements that support life and possibly even discover if some form of life ever existed there.